The transitional provisions on early conciliation are not easy to follow, but seem to suggest that early conciliation will start on an optional basis from 6 April and will only be compulsory for tribunal claims presented on or after 6 May.

I cannot find any specific transitional provisions on financial penalties, making it possible that they apply to all awards made on or after 6 April, rather than claims started on or after 6 April. However, the online version of the commencement order seems to be missing article 6 (referred to in article 3 but not included in the online version). This might contain further transitional provisions. [Update 14/02/2014 – Mark Tarran has pointed out that section 24(5) of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 says that there will be no financial penalties in cases presented before financial penalties come into force.]